Our Mission: To work with Redwood Valley residents and other stakeholders to enhance, maintain, and protect the rural nature of our community.

Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council (RVMAC), established in May, 2016 by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.

MAC members are volunteers and receive no salary or other compensation. Membership applications are available in a link on this website ("About RV MAC").

Please attend our monthly RVMAC meetings:

Generally, meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 5:00-7:00 pm at the Redwood Valley Grange (with occasional months taken off). Please check here to see when the next meeting will be taking place. Thanks!

Next Regular Meeting:

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

5:00-7:00 p.m.

RVMAC is dark in December, 2018—Happy Holidays!!!

Redwood Valley Grange, 8650 East Rd., Redwood Valley.H

CURRENT EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

****Button below links to the maps showing the areas of Redwood Valley which will be getting the 6 inch water mains installed. These maps were shown at the October 11, 2018 Redwood Valley Water Meeting at Eagle Peak Middle School. Only lots where homes were affected by the fire will have their water mains updated. This is due to very high costs and immediate needs.****

Announcing the formation of F.R.O.G.

The Forest Reciprocity Outreach Group, is a growing group of citizens in the Mendocino county region working to support the health and utilization of overstocked fire-hazard lands. Widespread agreement on management practices has coalesced in the wake of even-aged (“clear cut”) harvest and loss of ancient traditional low intensity fire management. Fuel loads have been steadily increasing for the last few decades as carpet regeneration has largely gone unchecked. Over competition for light, water, and nutrients has led to weakened forests, loss of diversity, and abundant dead wood. This has allowed wildfires to ascend into devastating crown fires that have decimated ecosystems and human settlements alike. We believe this burden can be our solution! As we improve natures health we will be reciprocated with abundance.

The suppressed growth of ailing Douglas Fir trees creates extremely strong, “tight ring”, small diameter poles that can be used as beautiful, sturdy, architectural elements. These poles exceed the tensile strength of sawn lumber with uncut continuous fibers running their entire length. Encased in natural fire-resistant clay-based wall mediums, these structures have proven to be exceptionally impervious to wildfires. This is a marked advance from expensive, often toxic, flammable dwellings. F.R.O.G.'s objectives are to reciprocate with nature and unburden forest lands of overcapacity, while creating beautiful, healthy, safe dwellings. And, to use poles for other useful structures and meaningful purposes. It is time for conscientious civilization to rise from the ashes!

The Forest Reciprocity Outreach Group has been initiated through a collaboration of members of Cloud Forest Institute (www.cloudforest.org), Polecraft Solutions (polecraftsolutions.com) and local citizens. Financial support has been granted through the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, and the Just and Resilient Future Fund. With the formation of our advocacy co-op, we will schedule a series of presentations and events promoting practices of forest reciprocity, including demonstrations on assembling a round pole structure in both Laytonville and Ukiah.

$124 Million Available To (Some) Fire Damaged Areas

By Sarah Reith

Nov 30 -- $124 million is available to communities in some of California’s disaster-impacted areas. In Mendocino County, the eiligible zip code is Redwood Valley. At a meeting last week, two representatives of the state’s housing and community development department (HCD) presented a draft plan that is open for public comment until December 12. HCD plans to submit the draft to HUD by February 1st, so that money will become available by summer. Most of the money is intended for those in low-to-moderate income households, but some can be used for housing developments in other parts of the county, as well.

*NEW* Local Job Listing:

NEWS FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON FLOW KANA PERMITS (from the Development Review committee):

Below is the link to the notice and staff report for the Planning Commission hearing on Dec. 6 for Flow Kana's major use permit modification, i.e., for their move from one building to another. The development review committee has already reviewed the permit, reported to the MAC which does not have any issues to report on it. Members of the community that would like to make comment or learn more are urged to attend the Dec. 6 Planning Commission meeting.

From the RVMAC Chair, Chris Boyd:

Hi everyone. Here are a couple of pictures of the memorial rock at Lion’s Park. If you haven’t visited, be sure to swing by. The ceremony on October 7th was attended by many people, including families and friends of some of the victims, with thoughtful words provided by Andy Mattern, Bob Rogers, and Mindi Ramos (aunt to the Shepherd children); her poem was beautiful and she was very strong to be able to read it. Everyone had electric candles (thanks to Marybeth). The lone egg carton visible in the daytime photo was left by Jessie, Cassie’s sister, to commemorate her encounter with “Charlie,” a friend who lost her life that night. Jessie had given Charlie a box of egg crates that week so that she could distribute some of her eggs.

Bob’s efforts with the Rotary Club were a big source of the energy behind this, with donations also from Valley Paving, the plaque creator (I’m sorry I don’t know the name of that business), and with a metal bench soon to be installed by the folks at Flow Kana. The ceremony was an apt focal point for this traumatic year. As I took the photo this morning, another car drove up and a single person got out to stand by the rock. That shows what this will mean to the community: a place to remember, to meditate, and to think of how we can make a safer community. Best to all, Chris/Wick

The Mendocino Council of Governments has secured funding for a comprehensive regional study to improve sidewalks, paths, and safe crossings in Mendocino County. The Mendocino County Pedestrian Needs Assessment and Engineered Feasibility Study – or Mendo Pedestrian project – will evaluate the needs, priorities, and feasibility of improving pedestrian facilities in the region, and provide options and recommendations leading to the eventual construction of new and infill pedestrian facilities.

The best way for Redwood Valley to participate is by taking the online surveys at www.mendopedestrian.org. There is also a workshop in Ukiah: Thursday, October 11, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Alex Rorabaugh Center, 1640 S. State St.

West Company, operating over the last 27 years in Mendocino County, works to help small businesses be successful. Federally funded by Small Business Administration (SBA), West Company offers business advice and counseling at no cost. If your business suffered a loss in the recent fire, contact the West Company to see if they can assist you in getting back on your feet. New location in Ukiah: East Church and Main in Ukiah. Workshops for businesses post-fire are being planned (see information to the right of this paragraph). Upcoming: Landlord workshops for people who want to rent a room or structure on their property and manage it as a business.

West Company: contact: maryanne@westcompany.org

News about $5,000 Business Recovery and General GRANTS from the Rotary Clubs--see Fire Recovery page of this website, or go to larca5130.org (that's the Rotary website) for more information!!! {Posted 3/12/18)

Dollar General will not be built in Redwood Valley!

GREAT NEWS!!! The Chehada Brothers, owners of the Redwood Valley Market, announced today (March 5, 2018) that they have just closed escrow on the purchase of the lot that had been designated for the Dollar General store--so there WILL NOT BE A DOLLAR GENERAL BUILT ON THAT SITE! Perhaps the loss of so many homes in the October fires, and the continued protest by dozens of RV residents against an alcohol permit for the DG, became a factor in DG thinking, uh, maybe they aren't welcome in Redwood Valley?! In any case, this is good news for so many of us who dreaded the big yellow sign in our little community. We can thank Alex and Anthony Chehada for pursuing legal remedies against DG, and for investing in the future of our community by buying the lot. Since Mendocino County now has a "Formula Business Ordinance" (enacted by the Board of Supervisors last year), which places additional public review and other "speed bumps" into approval of chain businesses in the rural areas of the County (including RV), we will have much more input into any future proposals for a formula store or restaurant in RV. Continue to support our local businesses like the Redwood Valley Market, local farmers, vineyards, etc. Let's keep Redwood Valley strong and independent!

Past Events:

BIG NEWS AUGUST 1, 2017--Today, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approved the Formula Business Ordinance creating a Community Character Combining District for Redwood Valley and most of the rural areas of the County. The import is that any "formula" (chain store/restaurant) business must go through a minor use permit process, thus requiring a public hearing/comment process for any approval by Planning Commission or Board. Conceptually, any future such store (example: a Dollar General, for instance) would have to go through a public process and the approval bodies would be EMPOWERED to turn down the permit, based on a community's input and other factors listed in the ordinance (it's on the Board website--factors are pretty broad). That means that Mendo County communities now have a new tool to compel their representatives to deny a formula business. Recall that the RV Dollar General received a "permit by right" with no conditions or public review process. It's a great step forward! To keep the RV MAC strong and representative of YOUR VIEWS, attend the monthly RV MAC meetings, and follow this space!

Ukiah Unified School District Public Meetings about the old Redwood Valley School on School Way--A meeting took place May 17, 2017 to discuss disposition of 2 abandoned schools (RV and Hopland). For further info, see notes at right and go to UUSD website, "7-11 Committee". As of March, 2018, the County is considering turning the RV School into about two dozen small housing units, to assist with post-fire recovery. Watch this space for further information.

RVMAC received approval of Community Foundation Grant to update RV Community Plan. The Community Action Plan for RV, which can be viewed in our Resources section, was written in 2004. It's outdated--doesn't reflect the community's objections to formula stores, nor language for how we view the future of our community. We held an initial meeting in June, 2017, facilitated by consultant and local resident, Cliff Paulin. Over 80 of you participated in brainstorming a VISION of RV's future. The project has been on hold since the fire, but look for news about our next community meeting in late May, 2018. Watch for how YOU can participate in creating a new VISION and PLAN for Redwood Valley!

Pending FIRE-related State legislation: Several bills sponsored by State Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood are before the California legislature to assist with fire victims and to promote better notification in the future. The RV MAC has sent LETTERS OF SUPPORT to the Senate and Assembly, and ENCOURAGES RESIDENTS OF REDWOOD VALLEY TO DO THE SAME! Included are a bill to require an insurance payout of 80% of building contents losses WITHOUT a comprehensive list of contents, as one insurance company is already doing (but most are not); SB 833, which is a bill requiring use of the AMBER ALERT system for emergency notification of imminent fire (and other emergency) risks; and several others. Contact your local legislative office at the Ukiah Conference Center to support these bills! UPDATE 4-20-18: This bill has passed its first committee and looks to be progressing through the legislative process. SB 897 (McGuire) proposes a less cumbersome standard for reporting fire losses to insurance companies before those companies must reimburse a significant portion of funds for insured losses; and adds plan language requirements for policy holders on what to expect for Additional Living Expenses. Even these fair, common sense requirements are receiving opposition from the insurance industry; the Senate Insurance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill Wednesday, April 25, at 1:30 pm. Call the committee to support this bill! Call today!

There was a California Senate Insurance Committee hearing Wednesday for SB 897, the bill to require the insurance companies to address a few concerns about fire victims’ ability to access funds from their policies, and to require plain language information about what is allowed under the daily living expenses after their house is lost. We sent a letter (copy attached) to the Committee supporting the bill; the insurance industry is obviously fighting back hard! We need to call our committee members (phone numbers below). Here's what to say: